CAPE TOWN, 14 February 2017—Morningstar Research (Pty) Limited, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today announced the finalists for its 2017 South Africa Fund Awards.

The annual Morningstar South Africa Fund Awards recognise funds and fund houses that added the most value for investors within the context of their relevant peer group in 2016 and over longer time periods. Morningstar selects the finalists using a quantitative methodology with a qualitative overlay that considers the one-, three-, and five-year performance history of all eligible funds, and adjusts returns for risk using Morningstar Risk, a measure that imposes a higher penalty for downside variation in a fund’s return than it does for upside volatility.

“Each of the finalists in the Morningstar South Africa Fund Awards has surpassed their peers, selected for the ability to deliver strong returns after adjusting for risk, and demonstrating potential for sustained returns in the long-term”, Tal Nieburg, Managing Director for Morningstar South Africa, said. “The Morningstar Awards offer due recognition to the highest-performing funds and fund houses that demonstrated excellence over the course of the previous year. We look forward to congratulating all of the finalists and winners at our presentation event next month”.

Notes to Editors:The Morningstar fund category and fund house awards are based on Morningstar fund data for the period 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016. References to the above-mentioned funds should not be considered a solicitation to buy or sell that fund.

About Morningstar Research (Pty) Limited and Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar Research (Pty) Limited is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc., a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on nearly 540,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on approximately 18.5 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with more than USD$200 billion in assets under advisement and management as of 30 September, 2016. The company has operations in 27 countries.